Jazz Festival Notes – some quick suggestions

Jazz Festival Notes

With over three hundred concerts to choose from – it can be a daunting task to decide which concerts you’d like to attend. So here are some suggestions, based on conversations with the festival programmers.

St. Paul and The Broken Bones are a white soul band from Birmingham, Alabama. The programmers at the festival are very high on this band, and after checking out their videos online – I can see why there is so much excitement. They are terrific, and arguably a better live performance band than a studio group.

The legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band at
Maison Symphonique on July 3

Lead singer Paul Janeway is as unlikely looking candidate to be a Blue-Eyed Prince of Soul as you’ll find – but the man can sing and put on a show with the best of the great R & B performers. The rest of the group, Jesse Phillips (bass, guitar), Browan Lollar (guitars), Andrew Lee (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), and Allen Branstetter (trumpet) are joined by Jason Mingledorff (saxophone, clarinet, flute), and Chad Fisher (trombone) are a musically tight and precise aggregation. They’ll be performing at MTelus (formerly The Metropolis) on July 5 at 8:30pm. For tickets please visit: www.ticketmaster.ca or call 1-855-790-1245. I may see you there with my bandmates in Cadillac Music.

The Jazz D’ICI series at L’Astral is a chance to see our home grown jazz musicians who are making a name for themselves on the international scene. Another advantage is the 6pm start time, allowing time to get over to a 7:30 or 8pm showtime in another hall. Or just to wander over to the outdoor stages. Bassist Rémi-Jean Leblanc will open the series with his quartet on June 28, playing cuts from his new album. RJ is a tremendous talent – and I’ve had the privilege of recording and performing with him.

Chet Doxas returns to perform at Le Gésu on July 3

World renowned jazz pianist Francois Bourassa and his long-time trio will take the L’Astral stage on July 3 – an excellent way to start your jazz festival evening. Tickets at L’Astral: www.ticketmaster.ca or call 1-855-790-1245.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will perform at the elegant Maison Symphonique at 7pm on July 3. You can’t go wrong with this legendary outfit and ambassadors of New Orleans jazz. For tickets call Place des Arts 514-842-2112 or online: www.placedesarts.com Enjoy!

Favourite son sax player Chet Doxas will be returning from Brooklyn where he now lives to perform with Rich in Cymbals at the intimate Gésu Theatre on July 3. They’ll be playing a mix of jazz and indie-rock, Its an ideal venue to enjoy jazz music, and every one of the 300 seats is a good one! The Jazz Dans La Nuit shows start at 10:30pm. le Gésu is at 1200 Bleury, tickets: 514-861-4036 or www.legesu.com